After casually setting up Fat Goose, Rita went silent—overplaying it would ruin the fun.
She turned to B80234615 and asked,
"How much variation is there in chanical race skill sets?"
B80234615: "A lot. It's completely random. The gods created tens of thousands of possible skills. Every unit has thirty fixed work-related skills, but the rest are randomly assigned from that massive pool."
Rita didn't press further, but Nivalis, still thinking about Lidian, had her own concerns.
"Then, what about[Shatter & Reconstruct]? Did you randomly acquire it, or was it a fixed skill?"
B80234615: "Randomly assigned."
Nivalis' expression was a mix of relief and disappointnt.
Rita could guess what she was thinking.
She was like Lidian's devoted fan, torn between wanting undeniable proof that Pine Bloom had used her, and not wanting Lidian to suffer heartbreak.
If [Shatter & Reconstruct] had been a fixed skill for all chanical race units, Lidian's pain would be unimaginable.
Just as Rita was about to lighten the mood, a glowing interface appeared in the center of the room.
[Divine Ga #24,268 – Chaotic Restaurant] Ga Start Countdown: 00:09:58 Ga Objective: Players will be randomly assigned into four-person teams. Over the next three interstellar days, each team must cook and sell food to intergalactic tourists. Your restaurant's revenue will determine your ranking. Your team's ranking is your personal ranking. You can check your current standing on the leaderboard at any ti. Ga Difficulty: Tornt
Ga Rules:
??◆□■▲◆□■▲◆▲◆ ≌∝≌∝≈≡∝≡≈≡≌∝≈≡∝≡∝≡ ??.?? ∷∴.∷.∵∷∵∴.∷.
... OooooooO0Ooooooo0 Rita squinted.
Not a single rule was readable.
But fortunately… she had a cheat.
She turned to B80234615 and asked,
"Can you decipher these?"
B80234615: "Yes. Scanning… translating now."
Ga Rules (Translated by B80234615): You are prohibited from using your teammates' body parts as cooking ingredients… while they are still alive. You may only purchase ingredients twice per interstellar day. If you create a dish with a "deliciousness rating" below 15%, you must eat it yourself. ∷∴.∷.∵∷∵∴.∷. Do not break the dishware.
... A single dish cannot contain more than five colors. You are a vegetarian. You are not allowed to add sugar to any dish you serve. A single custor cannot reject your dish more than three tis.
... If a custor insults you, you must respond with joyous laughter.
... Your "Chaos Score" must not stay below 10 for longer than 10 minutes. You may only eat food prepared by your teammates.
... At the hourly evaluation, your restaurant's cleanliness score must be higher than the restaurant across from you. When a teammate dies, you must imdiately clap and celebrate.
... No stealing from your own restaurant. You must wash at least 100 dishes every hour. OooooooO0Ooooooo0
Fifteen rules deciphered instantly.
Rita grew more uneasy with every line.
So many of these were impossible to figure out just by playing.
For example:
"No sugar in custor dishes" "Your restaurant must be cleaner than your rival's at every hourly check"
And who knew what kind of nightmares lurked in the remaining 12 unreadable rules?
But the biggest red flag was Rule #1.
"You are prohibited from using your teammates' body parts as cooking ingredients… while they are still alive."
That ant… when they were dead, it was fair ga.
Her own restriction prevented her from butchering teammates, but—
what if her teammates didn't have this rule?
She skimd the ga's description again.
Nowhere did it say "team mbers cannot attack each other."
A death match… in a restaurant simulation?
She was also deeply concerned about certain mysterious stats ntioned:
Deliciousness Rating Cleanliness Score Chaos Score
A ga called "Chaotic Restaurant" wouldn't have "chaos" in the na just for fun.
It was definitely a key chanic.
Rita turned to Nivalis, her expression serious.
"You need to stay hidden for this ga."
Nivalis imdiately caught on.
"Wait—you think they'll try to cook ?"
"Yes." Rita pointed at Rule #1.
"You're a pet, not a teammate. This ga lasts way too long. Even if B80234615 can hide your status screen, I'd have to constantly craft disguise items for you. And if soone realizes you're a unique species, they'll definitely try to use you as an ingredient. I can't risk it."
Nivalis gave B80234615 a sideways glance, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Fine. With your new pet watching your back, I guess I can relax."
…Even as she complained, she understood.
She hugged Rita briefly before retreating into the pet space.
Once Nivalis was safely hidden, Rita asked B80234615 a few last-minute questions.
But even the chanical race had never played this ga before.
B80234615: "It seems to be a ga where cooperation and sabotage coexist. There have been similar Divine Gas before. They tend to be… chaotic."
Rita: "...That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen."
If her team turned out to be a liability…
She could always eliminate them and run the restaurant alone.
Then… she had a horrible realization.
She looked out the window, at the thousands of other players trapped inside their own glass rooms.
Maybe they were thinking the exact sa thing.
B80234615: "Don't even think about killing your teammates."
Rita frowned.
"Why not?"
B80234615:
"That's exactly what the ga WANTS you to do. Every part of the design tempts you into betraying them. But if you actually want to win, you can't afford to kill them."
Rita sighed. "So the random teams… are they actually random?"
B80234615:
"Teams are assigned randomly, but the system prioritizes balance—just like in other Divine Gas. Players are sorted into groups based on skill level, but it's not a perfect system. Stronger players have extra restrictions, and watching weak players struggle makes for good entertainnt."
Rita scanned the leaderboard, studying the list of online players.
She spoke softly, but firmly.
"Once the ga starts, stay hidden. If anything happens, talk to ntally."
B80234615: "Understood."
Rita hesitated for a mont, then made a final decision.
"I'll give you three 'ergency override' chances. If I'm in danger and I don't notice, you can use skills without my permission."
Then, she handed B80234615 a World Graveyard.
"Keep this for recharging."
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